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7 Squat Cues That Suck

Because of bad instruction. Lots of bad instruction, and lots of bad cues from inexperienced lifters.

People that lifted weights in high school are the wrong people to learn from.

Chicken leg trainers at your gym are the wrong people to learn from.

Guys that can't squat double their bodyweight are the wrong people to learn from.

People that use any of the following cues, again, are the wrong people to learn from.

1. Break at the knees before the hips

This is my least favorite cue. People use this cue when trying to correct a common squat error: knees breaking before the hips.

Knees breaking before the hips happens when the knees begin to flex and travel forward before there is hip flexion and backward travel of the hips. This is bad, and the cause for most people's knee pain.

But breaking the hips before the knees is also wrong. In a perfect squat the knees begin to flex, travel forward & out at the same time that the hips flex and travel backward.

2. Don't let your knees go past your toes

This is the number one reason people squat poorly.

And it isn't the cue itself, but what happens when your knees don't go past your toes.

Let me explain.

In order for your body to descend there must be flexion in the hips, knee, and ankle to allow for a balanced, deep squat.

100% knee flexion? No problem. 100% hip flexion? No problem. But these two joints will only allow you to go so deep. The ankle must flex as well.

The ankle is the last piece of the puzzle and if you don't push(or physically cannot push) your knees past your toes then your body will make up for it somewhere else: your spine. This is bad. This is very bad.

The knees should go past the toes, and the deeper you squat the further they must travel to maintain a neutral spine.

3. Ass-to-Grass

This term has all but lost meaning. We will define it as this: your hamstrings touching your calves.

True ass-to-grass is a very weak position to be in, and always results in lumbar flexion, or more commonly known as "butt-wink".

It also puts stress on the knee and will almost certainly cause you pain.

This is too deep to squat, and there is no benefit over going just below parallel.

4. Never go below 90

This refers to a 90 degree bend in the knee, or "parallel".

We will define parallel as the depth you reach when the top of your knee cap is parallel to your hip crease.

This depth is deep enough for most people, and will build mighty thighs capable of squatting 500lbs.

Sometimes, though, you need to go deeper.

Front squats, high-bar squats, and overhead squats are all squat versions that should go deeper.